REDMOND, OR -- Housing Works will start accepting applications next week, for the 2018 Housing Choice Voucher waiting list - formerly known as HUD’s Section 8 Program. Housing Services Director Patty Holmes says low-income residents in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties apply online. "It’s a very simple process: You go to our website and there’s a link that just says ‘Register,’ then ‘I do not have a registration code.’ And then, pretty much their name and address, and if they have their income information, their phone number, their Social Security Number also always helps. And then, the click a box and hit ‘Submit.’ It’s a really easy process."

Holmes tells KBND News Housing Works doesn't know yet how many vouchers will be made available this year, "We help about 1,200 families – we have 1,203 Housing Choice Vouchers that serve the entire tri-county area. We haven’t had any new funding in this program in almost 14 years, other than some funding for homeless veterans. So, all we’re doing is filling the slots that vacate."

Low-income residents who qualify for the program can apply online anytime between 8 a.m. Monday and 5 p.m. Friday, January 12. "The time that they apply during the week does not matter," says Holmes. "After the list closes, we hit a button and it will randomize everybody, and then we lock down those positions and those are their positions. They can log back into their account and they can actually see what number they are on the waiting list." Those left on the 2017 waiting list must re-apply next week if they want to be on this year’s list.